I am thankful for the friend who asked me today what was up with my website. Sometimes I forget that other people actually read my posts haha But I remain so thankful that you do :) And so, at 1am, I’m inspired to share a little something ;)

After weeks upon weeks of, what I’m now calling, extreme travel, I find myself…in another hotel room haha! This time a little closer to home in San Diego. I was actually home for two weeks, but it felt like only a few days. The exhaustion of traveling around the world, with a hectic schedule, in such short time frames is hard to describe. However, I remain thankful that I am able to continue to have these extraordinary experiences!

The last stop on my most recent trip to Asia was Bali. And it was incredible. The lush beauty of the land was amazing, and I woke up every morning to many different types of birds happily singing! Though I had some great adventures while I was there (like having a monkey on my head!), I most enjoyed experiencing Nyepi. Nyepi is the Balinese Day of Silence in celebration of the New Year. It occurred on my first full day in Bali (I arrived the night before during the elaborate parades and festivals), and I was not allowed to leave the hotel grounds. Since I was only in Bali a few days, I originally thought this might prevent me from seeing all of the sights. However, it ended up being the most relaxing day of my two week journey.

I stayed in a beautiful villa (at Jamahal Private Resort), and during Nyepi, my only communication was to order room service. I slept in, listened to relaxing music, read a little, and wrote a lot. It was fantastic! I had not realized how much I needed to stop. I needed rest.

No phones, no conversations, no television.

Only beautiful silence.

In the silence of the day, I found peace.

(I now plan on incorporating days of silence into my everyday life.)

Photo source: My camera :) Rice terraces of Ubud in Bali

Fun fact: Shortly after I took this picture, I got rained on (the storm clouds are pretty obvious now that I see it through the lens of the camera haha). And it was glorious :)